TeuxDeux: Getting Things Done With Simplicity & Style

Since the dawning of time, people have had things to do. And once those things to do out-numbered their ability to remember them, they started inventing ways to keep track of them. With each new leap of technology, people found new and ingenious ways to keep lists of all the things they needed to do. The Internet is the hight of technology today, so naturally we’re going to try to leverage it’s power and awesomeness to help us get things done — or at least keep track of all the things we have to get done.

Because the concept of a to-do list is nothing new, there’s no shortage of to-do lists in web app form. Today, though, we’re going to take a look at one of the newer kids on the block — TeuxDeux. We’re going to see what makes TeuxDeux different, what it’s capable of, and how you can use it today.

Getting Started

TeuxDeux’s sign up process is your average, run-of-the-mill, Web 2.0 sign-up page. There’s a giant, red sign-up button on the homepage, as well as both a sign-up and a login button in the navigation across the top of the page.

The TeuxDeux.com Homepage

Once you sign-up and have a registered account, you can log into TeuxDeux. From here on out, when you navigate to http://teuxdeux.com, you will automatically be redirected to http://teuxdeux.com/list — your personal to-do list hub. Everything you need to do with TeuxDeux is done in this one, simple interface.

TeuxDeux's List View - the main screen of the app

The Interface

Tina Roth Eisenberg, a.k.a Swiss Miss, was the designer and co-creator of TeuxDeux. She wrote about why she designed TeuxDeux the way she did.

I have tried pretty much every to do-app there is but always wanted a different layout or >feature set, mostly, LESS fewer features. I figured out what works for me (a weekview, with >the ability to check things off) but I couldn’t find it anywhere.

That is at the heart of what TeuxDeux is all about. TeuxDeux isn’t trying to be a powerhouse list manager. It’s not a [GTD]-centric app. It’s about you having things to get done during the week, and TeuxDeux laying them out before you, and letting you get them done. The app focuses on the 5 day work week, showing you the current day in red, previous days in grey, and future days in black. Across the bottom lies the “Someday” list, which we’ll talk about a little later.

Using TeuxDeux

Adding Tasks

The 5 work days in the week are displayed before you, with their respective dates below them. Below the date metadata for each day is a text box. Write out a task for that day and hit enter. That’s it. The task you just entered drops down to the list below the text box.

Viewing Tasks

If you were a little lengthy in your task description and it can’t all fit in the space available to that day, a little ellipsis appears. Upon hovering over that ellipsis you can see it’s full length.

TeuxDeux uses a series of ellipsis to tell the user there's more to the task. Hover over the ellipsis to read the rest of the task.

Checking Tasks Off

To mark a task complete, click on it. How satisfying. You now have one less thing to do. If your the type that likes a visual reminder of how much you’ve accomplished, refresh the page, and any tasks marked complete will drop to the bottom of their respective lists. If you’d rather remove the clutter of your past accomplishments, then hovering over a crossed-out task reveals an “X” to the right. Clicking on the “X” removes that task from your list for good.

TeuxDeux let's you mark a task as complete by clicking on it. Hover over a completed task to reveal an "X" which will delete the task.

Moving Tasks

Moving tasks is a simple process too. Drag-and-drop. Click and drag the task from wherever it is to wherever you want it to go.

Moving a task in TeuxDeux is as simple as dragging and dropping.

The “Someday” List

There’s one special list in TeuxDeux that isn’t date-based: The “Someday” List. It lives at the bottom of the TeuxDeux interface, and spans the full-width of your screen. It’s useful for storing those plans and goals that are a little more idealistic, the things you want to do when you can find the time for them, instead of the things you need to make time for. A “hack” of sorts that’s endorsed by TeuxDeux is utilizing the five columns in the Someday list to organize your Someday tasks into categories. Put a task with a unique identifier at the top of each of those columns, and then drag and drop relevant tasks below it.

The screenshot below illustrates this concept.

Keep the "Someday" list organized by breaking it down into categories, one per column.

Moving Through Time

The makers of TeuxDeux designed the app around the concept of a week’s worth of tasks. But they also understand that sometimes you have things come up that you need to push to the next week, or maybe even the next month. In this respect TeuxDeux functions much like a calendar, allowing you to schedule appointments of events in the future in the style of a task.

To travel through the list, there are left and right arrow buttons on the edges of TeuxDeux’s interface. Clicking on these arrows moves your list one day into the past or future. Hovering over those arrows gives you more advanced navigation methods, including jumping 5 days at a time, jumping right to Today, or using a calendar-style date picker to jump to any date your little heart desires.

TeuxDeux offer's flexible options for traveling to different dates in the app.

How TeuxDeux Stacks Up

TeuxDeux is an app designed with a specific user in mind. This makes sense, it was built by and for someone with specific needs in mind. But it can be useful to others with similar needs.

If you need powerful list management, multiple project support, or are a user of the GTD philosophy, TeuxDeux probably isn’t right for you. But that’s ok, and kind of the point. Apps for people like that already exist onlineandoff — and they’re really good. TeuxDeux is here to satisfy people who need a little help staying productive, but don’t have the kind or number of responsibilities that require a powerhouse task management app. From the words of TeuxDeux itself, it’s “…a simple, designy, to-do app”.

If that sounds like your cup to tea, I suggest you give TeuxDeux a try.

Bonus: iPhone App

From TeuxDeux’s inception, users clamored for an iPhone app. A few months later, one was released. It’s currently available in the App Store for $2.99.

Like the web app, TeuxDeux for iPhone is a beautiful example of clean interface design. It mirrors the web app’s styling, displaying one day at a time, and allowing you to flip through the days with a simple swipe gesture.

TeuxDeux for iPhone.

Across the bottom of the screen is something they call “the date carousel”. You can navigate throughout the week by tapping on a date in this carousel, or use it to drag a task from one day to another by tapping, dragging, and then dropping the task onto the date of your choosing.

All things considered, it’s a lovely companion to the web app, allowing all you iPhone users out there quick and easy access to your todos on the go. The one feature unique to the iPhone app is multiple account support. If you’d like to keep your work tasks completely separate from your personal ones, then you can create separate accounts, and switch between them on the iPhone app. Also, according to their FAQ page, an Android app is in the works and a Blackberry app is being considered.

Conclusion

Any productivity expert will tell you, find a tool that fits you and your workflow rather than fitting your workflow to a tool. Take a look at TeuxDeux yourself. Sign up for it, try it for a week, see if it helps you. There’s no risk — TeuxDeux is available to any and all interested parties for the low-low price of free.

So what are you waiting for? I know you have lots of things teux deux. Go get ’em done.

Summary

TeuxDeux
Reviewed by Zach LeBar on
Jan 28.
TeuxDeux is a simple, designy to-do app and the first collaboration between studiomates swissmiss and Fictive Kin. If you like making to-do lists, you will love TeuxDeux.
Rating:
10 out of
10